


Calm Before the Storm

by BatmanWhoLaughss



Series: Cal & Kanan [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game), Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Awkward Crush, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Crushes, First Crush, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Jedi Temple (Star Wars), M/M, Pre-Canon, Pre-Order 66 (Star Wars), Pre-Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Pre-Star Wars: Rebels, caleb dume and cal kestis were best friends, no one can take this concept away from me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27708262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatmanWhoLaughss/pseuds/BatmanWhoLaughss
Summary: “Caleb. Caleb! Wake up, wake up!”“Cal? Wha–” He muffles a yawn. “Wha’ time is it?”“C’mon, get up!” Cal is smiling brightly, and his hand is still on Caleb’s arm. “Get dressed- there’s something you’ve really gotta see.”----Best friends Caleb Dume and Cal Kestis had a habit of sneaking out of the Temple. On one of these nights, it leads to something a little bit more.
Relationships: Caleb Dume & Cal Kestis, Caleb Dume/Cal Kestis, Kanan Jarrus & Cal Kestis, Kanan Jarrus/Cal Kestis
Series: Cal & Kanan [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2027282
Comments: 13
Kudos: 65





	Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Note:**

> I have Kanan/Cal brainrot because I'm replaying Fallen Order and these two adorable Jedi boys would be so cute together. But talk about rarepairs!!! I’m actually surprised- there’s only ONE fic with this tag on the whole Archive (until now, that is ;) )
> 
> Anyway, They were each other's first crushes/first kiss and no one can take this concept away from me.
> 
> I stayed up until 2am to write this and I have no regrets whatsoever. This is set a couple months before they became padawans, so they both would be about 13 at this time. I hope you like it!!!!

“Caleb. Caleb! Wake up, wake up!” 

Caleb groans, rolling over as the feeling of someone shaking him begins to register. He has no idea what time it is, but he knows it has to be  _ much  _ too late for Cal Kestis to be in his room. He sits up and stretches, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Cal? Wha–” He muffles a yawn. “Wha’ time is it?” 

“C’mon, get up!” Cal is smiling brightly, and his hand is still on Caleb’s arm. “Get dressed- there’s something you’ve really gotta see.” 

“Remember what happened the  _ last _ time we snuck out after curfew?” Caleb can’t help but say as he rolls his eyes. But he’s already getting out of bed and pulling on his robes. He can never say no to Cal, and he has to admit, he’s intrigued by whatever he wants him to see. 

Besides, he’s always happier when Cal’s around, anyway. They’ve been friends for years now, and everything seems  _ much _ more fun when the two of them are together.

“Master Obi-Wan won’t catch us  _ this _ time.” Cal says, matter-of-factly. His eyes shine bright blue in the light. Caleb’s always been fascinated by the color, and by how they seem to sparkle when they catch the sun at just the right angle. He blushes slightly as he rolls his eyes, trying to push down the warm feeling in his chest. In the back of his head, he remembers the Masters’ lessons from a few weeks ago.  _ These feelings are natural,  _ they said.  _ Don’t fight them _ . 

He doesn’t know what it all means. All he knows is that he just feels… lighter, whenever his best friend is there. And he  _ has _ been itching to get out of the Temple again.

“Where are we going?” Caleb asks, as he slips on his cloak. Cal doesn’t answer, just grabs his arm and drags him towards the door. 

“Come  _ on, _ slowpoke! Just follow me.” Cal opens the door, glancing around to make sure the coast is clear before gesturing for Caleb to follow. Caleb laughs, shaking his head, but he follows, all the same. He’s curious, and the thrill of sneaking out is admittedly something he takes  _ far _ too much joy in. 

They make their way through the Temple, occasionally hiding to avoid the temple guards stationed at various doors. Once, they have to duck into a small storage closet to avoid getting caught, and Caleb can almost count all of Cal’s freckles. That one makes him blush again. 

Eventually, they come to an open window, and from what Caleb can see, it leads out onto the Temple’s roof. “Cal, what– are you sure that’s safe?” He can’t help the fear that creeps into his voice.

“What? You scared? Of course it’s safe. Come on, it’s really cool.”

Caleb frowns. “ _ Jedi _ don’t get scared.” 

“Then come on!” Cal says, laughing.

Caleb pouts, but he follows Cal out onto the roof.

The night air is cool against his face, and for a moment the brilliant lights of Coruscant are so bright they’re almost overwhelming. Everything looks so much smaller from up here, and the sounds of speeders zooming by are little more than a low buzzing. 

Cal leads him to the other side of the roof, and Caleb’s eyes widen when he sits down on the edge. But Cal just smiles, pointing down towards something down below. “Check  _ that _ out.” 

Caleb takes a seat next to him, and he can’t help but gasp when he takes in the sight. There’s a balcony directly below them, a couple levels down, and Caleb can clearly see the unmistakable moving flashes of lightsabers down below. Apparently they’re right above one of the Padawans’ training rooms. Four or five of the older students are outside, moving seamlessly through drills far more advanced than anything Caleb and Cal are learning. Caleb turns to Cal with his eyes wide and mouth open, and Cal smirks.

“I  _ told you _ it would be cool,” he says, crossing his arms smugly.

That makes Caleb laugh, and he can’t help but punch Cal in the shoulder. He tries to ignore the weird flutter in the pit of his stomach when the gesture makes Cal chuckle in response. 

“If the Masters catch us, I’m blaming you,” Caleb says, but he’s still smiling. This is worth getting caught for. 

“Not if I say it was all your idea, first.” For a moment, Caleb thinks he might see…  _ something _ , in Cal’s face. Something that  _ might _ mirror the odd thoughts flashing through his mind. For a moment, he thinks about asking Cal about… whatever this might be, but before he can open his mouth, Cal looks back at the training grounds again.

They watch the older students in silence for a few minutes, and Caleb can’t help but feel a lingering sense of awe as they fight. They’re moving through the lightsaber forms with practiced ease, so quickly that Caleb can barely tell which form is which. He wonders if  _ he’ll _ be able to move like that, someday. 

Part of him is also watching Cal out of the corner of his eye. The wind is making his red hair blow all around his face, and Caleb blushes as he feels another flutter in his chest.  _ What’s happening to me?  _ He looks down at his hands before Cal catches him staring. “Do you think we’ll ever be that good?” Caleb says in a low voice.

“I know  _ I’ll _ be better than  _ you _ .” 

An indignant frown spreads across Caleb’s face. “ _ Hey _ . You beat me in training  _ twice! _ I’ve beaten  _ you _ lots,” too. He folds his arms across his chest. 

“Well, when we’re both Jedi Masters, we can find out who’s better for real.” Cal smiles as Caleb uncrosses his arms, leaning back to watch the sky. He can’t help but notice that his hand is closer to Cal’s than before.  _ Very _ close, so close that he can reach out and grab it if he wants. 

But Cal looks serious, almost sad, and Caleb frowns again when he notices. “Cal? What’s wrong?” He can feel something vaguely negative creeping into Cal’s aura in the Force.

“I heard the masters talking yesterday,” he says. “They think we’re ready to take the Initiate trials soon.” 

“Really?” Caleb’s eyebrows rise. “That’s great! When? Did they say? Did they–” But Caleb stops talking as Cal’s frown deepens. “Cal?”

There’s a weird tightness in his chest when he sees Cal’s hand moving closer to his. Their fingers are nearly touching, and it makes an odd tingly sensation pass right through him.  _ What would happen if I _ –

But Cal starts talking again. “Once we’re Padawans… do you think they’ll send us out to fight in the war?” 

Caleb has seen the holos of all the brave Jedi risking their lives for the Republic. He’s imagined himself out there more than once, standing proudly with an army at his back. But he hasn’t seriously considered the possibility before now. “I don’t know,” he says, glancing down at their hands again, before looking back up at Cal’s face. Cal’s forefinger is crossed over his pinky, and it makes his response come out a little higher-pitched than normal. “Maybe. We go where our Masters go, right?” He hopes Cal can’t see how badly he’s blushing.  _ Is it… Is he… Does he want to hold my hand?  _ He’s held Cal’s hand plenty of times, but this feels… different somehow. He thinks he’d like holding Cal’s hand. 

“...Do you think we’ll still see each other?”

That makes Caleb freeze, as an uncomfortable feeling spreads all the way through him. He hasn’t considered that part: the separation from everything he knows and loves and everything that makes him happy. He doesn’t  _ want _ to think about it, doesn’t want to remember that all of his time will be spent with his Master and not with Cal. 

But he pushes those thoughts down, wanting to bring that light feeling in his chest back, so he nods. “Of course we will,” he says, with a lot more confidence than he feels. “The war’s not gonna last forever.” 

The top of Cal’s hand is resting over his now. Caleb’s breath hitches, and from the way Cal’s watching him with a hopeful look on his face, he knows it  _ has _ to be intentional. Right? “We won’t get to hang out as much,” Cal mutters. 

It can’t be anything less than intentional, so Caleb doesn’t feel too horrible about twisting his hand so his palm is resting face up. And  _ oh _ , his fingers are threading through Cal’s, and their whole bodies seem to be shifting closer and closer so their shoulders are almost touching. Cal’s hand is warm, and soft, and Caleb’s mind is spinning a mile a minute, but mostly all he can think about is how nice it feels. It’s new, and there’s a warm, happy feeling spreading through his whole body.

“We will.” They have to. He wants to keep holding Cal’s hand. “Whenever we get breaks, we can practice together, or send holos, or…” He trails off. They’ve shifted closer still, so their whole arms are touching. Cal’s face is very close to his, and he can see all the different shades of blue in his eyes. There are more than he thought. 

“Maybe our Masters will be stationed on the same ship, or in the same system,” Cal says, giving Caleb a small smile. “They wouldn’t really separate us, would they?” 

“Maybe we can talk to Master Obi-Wan. Ask him to station us together.” Obi-Wan is always saying how much he cares about all the Padawans– he wouldn’t break them up, right?

“Yeah. Yeah, Master Obi-Wan would listen to us,” Cal says. Caleb hopes he can’t hear how loudly his heart is pounding. Cal’s face is impossibly close, now, and it’s like one of those moments he’s seen in holos that he and Cal always used to laugh at. He can feel emotions coming from Cal that mirror his own, and neither one of them can seem to stop leaning towards each other. 

_ What’s happening?  _ Caleb’s struggling to control his racing thoughts as the moment seems suspended in midair.  _ What’s going on, he’s still holding my hand, is this really happening, are we really going to _ – All of his training, all of the lessons he was taught about being mindful of his thoughts goes right out the window, and all he can focus on is the pounding of his heart and Cal’s hand still in his as they both gradually inch closer and closer. 

It’s only a split second, when their lips connect. They’re both awkward and wide-eyed and blushing like mad, but Cal’s smile is as bright as his. His lips tingle where they touched Cal’s, and a moment later they kiss once more before pulling away. It’s only a second, but Caleb feels like he’s floating, because all he can think about is how happy he is that  _ Cal likes him, too _ .

He still doesn’t quite understand all this, and he suspects that Cal doesn’t either. Both of their faces are as red as a jogan fruit, but their fingers are still locked together and Caleb can’t feel anything negative coming from Cal. They’re still silent, watching the older Padawans train with matching grins on their faces, and suddenly Caleb feels a sense of conviction flow through him. 

Cal is watching him as he turns his head. “Whatever happens, we’ll still be friends.” Of course they will. He knows that as surely as he knows the sun will rise tomorrow morning. And… Jedi can’t have attachments, but maybe they could be even more, one day. 

“Yeah, definitely.” Cal smiles. “Best friends.” 

Caleb’s blush gets deeper at that, and he looks down at where their hands are still joined. He doesn’t know what that kiss means for them, if it’s just a curiosity thing or if Cal is feeling everything he is, but he doesn’t really care at the moment. At the moment, he’s filled with nothing but contentment, like the two of them can conquer anything the galaxy throws at them. They have their whole futures ahead of them, and his mind is thinking about all the possibilities, everything that could happen in the next few months and their futures after the war. 

Caleb Dume smiles, leaning his head against Cal Kestis’, and at this moment, he lets himself hope.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on twitter if you wanna keep in touch!! @targaryenjedii


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